Post-Gamugate: Home Office hypocrisy

In the wake of Gamugate, the UK Home Office has announced that failed Zimbabwean asylum seekers will be deported, as Zimbabwe is “more stable”

The Home Office says that, since 2006, failed Zimbabwean asylum seekers have been protected in the UK in light of the unstable situation in their home country. It says Zimbabweans had enjoyed special treatment in Britain, in that they were allowed to stay regardless of the validity of their asylum claims.

That policy was revoked on Thursday and the Home Office said Zimbabwean asylum seekers who have no right to remain in the UK will be deported.

The Home Office could not provide details on how many Zimbabweans face deportation.

In a statement, Immigration Minister Damian Green said that the time is right for Zimbabwean asylum seekers to return given the improved situation in Zimbabwe after the formation of an “inclusive” government in the country in 2009. “This decision reflects the improved stability in Zimbabwe since 2009 and the UK court’s view that not all Zimbabweans are in need of international protection.

“Those facing return will join the hundreds who have returned voluntarily, responding to calls by Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to return home and help rebuild their country.

“The British government takes its international responsibilities seriously and will always grant protection to those in genuine need, and continue to monitor events in Zimbabwe.”

However, only a day later, President Robert Mugabe was quoted as saying that the unity government should dissolve within months. “Some will say, let us negotiate and give it another life. I am reluctant because part of the things happening (in the inclusive government) are absolutely foolish and stupid,” Mugabe said.

The unity pact between Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai calls for drafting a new constitution that would govern new elections.

Unemployment is still estimated around 90 percent, but many Zimbabweans receive remittances from the estimated three million who fled the country. Political violence still simmers across the country, with one Tsvangirai supporter killed when pro-Mugabe militants stoned a constitutional outreach meeting last month.

Constitutional talks were suspended after the attack, and were again postponed this month due to funding problems, casting doubt on plans to hold the referendum on June 30. Mugabe says he wants the referendum by March with elections later in the year.

Alarmed at the latest flare-up, South Africa dispatched mediators to Zimbabwe last week to speak with the feuding parties, who both said they are ready to hold elections.

Sarah Harland of the Zimbabwe Association in London told the Guardian that it was too soon to resume forced returns. “We remain keen to work with the UK government around a sustainable and stable voluntary return programme, as most Zimbabweans wish to go home and rebuild their country when the time is right,” she said.

Asylum seeker dies during deportation Not only does this announcement come in the wake of the plea from X Factor contestant Gamu Nhengu to remain in the UK, but on Tuesday, an Angolan asylum seeker died during deportation back to his home country.

It appears that Jimmy Mubenga, a father of five, died during a physical deportation at the hands of private security guards, on a British Airways flight from Heathrow to Luanda. Mubengu lost a legal battle to remain in the UK in August.

According to the Institute of Race Relations, this is not an isolated case. The institute’s report, Driven to Desperate Measures: 2006-2010, shows that 44 people have died since 2006 as a consequence of the UK’s immigration/asylum system.

Sapa; with additional reporting by The South African.

For more information on this issue with regards to Gamu Nhengu, read: X Factor condemns Zim’s Gamu to "firing squad" and Zimbabweans to be deported from SA.